Coachella & Stagecoach music fests big draw for San Diegans

So is the April 23 Big Four heavy-metal show with Metallica, which is being held at same Indio site as the festivals

FILE - In this April 18, 2010 file photo, fans gather around an art installation on the final day of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif. Organizers of this year's festival, which starts Friday, April 15, 2011, will infuse the annual extravaganza with flashy, trippy tech features that promise to redefine the concert experience. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, file)
— AP

FILE - In this April 18, 2010 file photo, fans gather around an art installation on the final day of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif. Organizers of this year's festival, which starts Friday, April 15, 2011, will infuse the annual extravaganza with flashy, trippy tech features that promise to redefine the concert experience. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, file)
/ AP

San Diego will also be well-represented in Indio at the Big Four heavy-metal concert on April 23, headlined by Metallica, and at the two-day Stagecoach country-music festival, headlined by Kenny Chesney, Carrie Underwood and Rascal Flatts, on April 30 and May 1.

That’s because about 20 percent of the audience for all three events — each of which will be held on the grassy grounds of Indio’s Empire Polo Club — will be coming from San Diego County.

At least 40,000 San Diegans will be in attendance for Coachella, and 20,000 more for Stagecoach. The total attendance for the Big Four concert has not yet been determined. But about one-fifth of the Big Four audience will also hail from San Diego County, according to Coachella and Stagecoach mastermind Paul Tollett, who carefully tracks ticket sales for both festivals (and Big Four) by ZIP code.

“As in previous years, San Diego is a big feeder market for us,” said Tollett, the head of Goldenvoice Concerts, which launched Coachella in 1999 and Stagecoach in 2007.

“San Diego is about as close to Indio as Los Angeles. So I think people in San Diego feel like these festivals — and the Big Four show — are their events, too.”

Both festivals sold out last year, with the three-day Coachella drawing 225,000 fans and the two-day Stagecoach attracting just more than 100,000, record attendance figures for each. This year, Coachella sold out in just six days, the fastest sell-out in the event's history.

“The Big Four and Stagecoach will also sell out in advance,” Tollett predicted. “Last year, Stagecoach sold out pretty much at the door.”

The Big Four, which co-stars Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax, is a one-time-only event. In previous years, Coachella and Stagecoach were held on consecutive weekends in April. This year, they bookend Big Four.

The swift sell-out of Coachella this year took even Tollett by surprise. He did not offer even a chuckle when asked if the sell-out happened because of, or despite, Kanye West being one of the headliners this year.

"Well, I hope its because of the (entire) lineup, because that's my job -- and, if it's not, then (I'm) not needed anymore," Tollett said, speaking from a home he rents one block from the festival site each April.